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| President Moon Jae-in |
He expressed his gratitude to the people as the ruling party clinched a landslide victory across the country.
"I know the huge victory does not mean I did well in all state affairs," Moon said in a statement. "The people showed their trust in me despite the shortfalls. That's why I thank them more."
The President said he would hold himself in check. "I'll be cautious not to get drunk with the election results and become arrogant. I have hefty promises to keep and problems to solve. They may not be easy (to keep and solve) but I'll seek to do so by keeping in mind that the people are at the center of state affairs."
DPK Chairwoman Choo Mi-ae also said the party's landslide victory is people's strict command to establish peace and revive the economy by assisting the Moon administration.
"The people bade farewell to regionalism, McCarthyism and the Cold War legacy and chose a future of peace, economic development and prosperity," Choo said in a party meeting at the National Assembly.
Her remarks indicated the crushing defeat of the conservative opposition parties, especially the main conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP), which claimed Moon's peace overture and the reconciliatory mood with North Korea would threaten national security.
As for the DPK's victory in conservatives' traditional home turfs ― Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province ― she said the voters there selected new people who meet the need of new times to eradicate deep-rooted evils. "Their new choices will be a turning point for the nation's new history of politics."
The chairwoman said during campaigning, her party had tried to listen to the people who wished for lasting peace and economic revival. "We'll bear their opinion in mind, and, as the ruling party, fulfill our duties with more responsibility and modesty."
Despite the landslide victory, party officials also say they need to be cautious not to get blinded by self-righteousness.
"This is the beginning and an important point, and we should be careful not to make mistakes," another party official said on condition of anonymity. "If elected candidates show poor capability or are involved in corruption scandals, it will deal a blow to both the party and the government."
Some pointed out the landslide victory came because the opposition performed so poorly, not because the ruling bloc performed well.
"The LKP has tried to drag down the Moon administration for the last one year, regardless of what the public wanted. So the people, who had gathered with candles, showed their power again," Rep. Kang Byung-won, a party spokesman, said.
In the local elections, the DPK won 14 out of 17 metropolitan cities and provinces. In the by-elections for 12 Assembly seats, the DPK took 11.
